In the Company of Tibetan Monks: Opening Our Home, Hearts and Minds to the Wonderfully Unexpected

By Suzanne R. Bauer

Suzanne agreed to host a few of the seven Tibetan monks when they visited Ohio on their 2012 World Peace Cultural Tour. Due to a last minute change of plans, she and her husband John hosted all of the monks and their driver for nine days in their home. Although Suzanne and John are world travelers, they knew little about Tibet and Buddhism. Hosting the monks became an incredible adventure as Suzanne and John maneuvered through unchartered waters. Their friends said this was an opportunity for them to step out of their comfort zone. Upon reflection, it was more accurate to say they stepped into a comfort zone. When the monks entered their home, they also stepped into their hearts. Being in the company of these Tibetan monks was a life-changing experience. Suzanne and John were and continue to be overwhelmed with gratitude for having been placed in a circumstance where this experience literally came through their front door.

Many color photographs help to tell the story of this wonderfully unexpected cultural experience.

All proceeds from the sale of this book are donated to the work of the Gaden Jangtse Monastery in India, where the monks reside, and Merging Hearts Holistic Center, the organization that sponsored the monks during their stay in Canton, Ohio.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491812129

Suzanne R. Bauer

Suzanne is a wife, mother, and grandmother. Suzanne was born and raised in Lima, Ohio, attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, graduated from Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio with a BSN degree and the University of Akron with a MSED degree. Suzanne worked at University Hospitals in Cleveland and Akron City Hospital, and was the Education Consultant for a pediatric evaluating team in Canton, Ohio. When her husband John accepted a job transfer in 1981, Suzanne and her family moved to Luxembourg where they lived for ten years. As a member of the American Women’s Club of Luxembourg, Suzanne greatly expanded an existing pamphlet, Living in Luxembourg, and published it as a book designed to assist English-speaking expatriates living in the multinational Luxembourg community. In appreciation of this effort, Suzanne and her committee were invited to the Grand Ducal Palace for an audience with Crown Prince Henri in 1991. The book is still being sold today and is in its sixteenth edition. Suzanne loves to cook and studied French cooking in Paris and Luxembourg. She and John are world travelers and have recently traveled to Antarctica, high Arctic regions in Norway and Russia, Vietnam and Cambodia. Suzanne has retired from her interior decorating and real estate home staging consulting business, has studied faux painting and wood graining, and enjoys creating interesting finishes. Above all, Suzanne loves spending time with her family. Suzanne and John live near Canton, Ohio. They have three children and three grandchildren.

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The views expressed in this work are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Gaden Jangtse Monastery, members of the World Peace Cultural Tour or Merging Hearts Holistic Center.

© 2013 Suzanne R. Bauer. All rights reserved.

Cover photo by John Bauer.

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Published by AuthorHouse 9/11/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-1212-9 (e)

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Table of Contents

Introduction

In the Company of Tibetan Monks

Saturday, July 7

Sunday, July 8

Monday, July 9

Tuesday, July 10

Wednesday, July 11

Thursday, July 12

Friday, July 13

Saturday, July 14

Sunday, July 15

Monday, July 16

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Merging Hearts Volunteers

Monk Sauce

John’s Breakfast Shake

Contact Information

Suggested Reading, Viewing and Listening

About the Author

Introduction

Suzanne agreed to host a few of the seven Tibetan monks when they visited Ohio on their 2012 World Peace Cultural Tour. Due to a last minute change of plans, she and her husband John hosted all of the monks and their driver for nine days in their home. Although Suzanne and John are world travelers, they knew little about Tibet and Buddhism. Hosting the monks became an incredible adventure as Suzanne and John maneuvered through unchartered waters. Their friends said this was an opportunity for them to step out of their comfort zone. Upon reflection, it was more accurate to say they stepped into a comfort zone. When the monks entered their home, they also stepped into their hearts. Being in the company of these Tibetan monks was a life-changing experience. Suzanne and John were – and continue to be – overwhelmed with gratitude for having been placed in a circumstance where this experience literally came through their front door.

Many color photographs help to tell the story of this wonderfully unexpected cultural experience.

All proceeds from the sale of this book are donated to the work of the Gaden Jangtse Monastery in India, where the monks reside, and Merging Hearts Holistic Center, the organization that sponsored the monks during their stay in Canton, Ohio.

In the Company of Tibetan Monks

Opening Our Home, Hearts and Minds to the Wonderfully Unexpected

July 7 - July 16, 2012, Canton, Ohio: Seven Tibetan monks, from the Gaden Jangtse Monastery in southern India and their driver, Jeffery Beach from California, were honored guests in our home during their World Peace Cultural Tour. The purpose of the tour was to raise awareness about Tibetan Buddhism and culture, promote harmony and peace, and cultivate compassion and kindness for all living beings (www.tsawamonksusa.com).

The Merging Hearts Holistic Center, a non-profit educational and cultural organization, sponsored the monks during their stay (www.merginghearts.org). Merging Hearts Secretary and Events Chairman Bonnie Paglialunga contacted the monks while they were on tour and spent countless hours planning and orchestrating every detail involved with their stay. Bonnie made it possible for this amazing experience to happen. I will always be in her debt.

Saturday, July 7

The long awaited visit with the monks began when they arrived at the Merging Hearts Holistic Center in their Mobile Monastery van at 3:30 p.m. after driving from their previous stay in Pittsburgh. We did not have much information about the monks before they arrived – only that they had a driver, and they bought and prepared their own food. They sounded like the perfect house guests, so weeks before their arrival, I offered to host several of the monks in our home.

Other host families and members of the Merging Hearts community were on hand to greet our distinguished guests. The sight of seven smiling monks in their vermillion-and gold-colored robes entering the holistic center took my breath away.

After we exchanged greetings, the monks toured the facility, studying their surroundings. Then they went to work.

The head monk rearranged all of the furniture in the main room and set up an altar where he placed a photo of His Holiness the fourteenth Dalai Lama in the center. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and for many Buddhists around the world. In 1989, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his